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Richard "Clock" Riley
Richard "Clock" Riley is a player character belonging to Holtz. He is a scientific character and a skilled technician and sawbones, a non-combat specialist. Not one to generally involve himself directly with danger, he's often the voice with a network connection helping teams from a distance, be it through remote hacking and reconnaissance, or by operating small specialized drones. In the rare occasions he does go out into the field, he has the common sense to stay out of trouble. Clock is an unassuming-looking fellow in his early 30's, a façade hiding a brilliant, omnidisciplinarian mind. Neither his build nor his face are particularly remarkable, and he is easily missed in a crowd. The part of him that draws the most attention are his honey-colored eyes: they have a very keen look to them, and rarely stand still as he observes the world around him. His hair is light brown and cropped close, showing a few surgical scars in his scalp. His beard is generally kept as a 5 o'Clock shadow, upgraded to full stubble if he's gone too long puzzling over a specific problem. His left ear is missing a small piece of the earlobe, from an event he refuses to disclose. Body-wise, he's just this side of "out-of-shape". His voice is a pleasant tenor, well-modulated through years of serving as an operator through audio-only links. He's not particularly agile, but he knows how to adjust his attitude to look at ease in most situations. He smells faintly of cheap soap, energy drinks and burnt electronics, all of them things easily found in his dwellings. When not geared up for anything specific, Clock wears simple clothes: comfortable shoes, dress slacks and shirt, a cap, occasionally a padded jacket over it all, all in black. A headset hangs around his neck when not in use. This simple wardrobe leaves him with more time for doing the really interesting things in life, and he can show off his individuality in other ways. Hidden under his clothes Clock has an assortment of old scars. Stitches, skin grafts, gashes, surgical cuts, the occasional small chemical burn. All are a little faded already. Personality Clock is calm and easygoing most of the time, with an understated sense of humor. He knows the extent of his abilities -- he's tested them thoroughly in his earlier years -- and every challenge is treated as a puzzle to be solved. From hacking a terminal remotely, to figuring out how to stitch a wound closed using only kitchen utensils and a tuning fork. His dispassionate attitude under tension can be aggravating, but the confidence Clock puts in his skills is usually warranted. Anyone interacting with him for more than a single day will quickly realize Clock is a workaholic. From the moment he wakes up to when he drags himself back to bed nineteen hours later, he's working on some project or another, he's studying, he's planning, or he's looking for new challenges. There are brief pauses for food and personal hygiene, but all in all it's very difficult to get him to enjoy any "leisure time". When dragged away from his computers and his devices, Clock spends most of his time observing without saying much. The best way to get him to talk is to ask him mundane technical questions: he can talk for hours about the minutiae of authentication systems or the healing patterns of plasma injuries. Despite his attempts at staying out of sight, there is clearly more about this man than meets the eye. For instance, he will readily tell people that "Clock" is a hacker nickname derived from the ancient concept of the Doomsday Clock and that he has been using that name since he was very young. There is, however, evidence that he is not the first person to use that nickname. The specific origin of his scars is also kept a well-guarded secret, with his only claim with regards to them being that he's had an "interesting time in his early twenties". He is by far most comfortable in a safe location, helping coordinate people out in the field through a realtime data link. His sharp analytical mind allows him to pore through large amounts of data and feed field teams with the information they need to carry out their missions safely, while sprinkling in enough humor in his communications to keep team morale high. And when things inevitably go awry -- as they are wont to do -- he's ready to help patch up the wounded when they return. Magic None. Zip. Zero. Nada. While Clock has a lot of theoretical knowledge about magic, he has no realized potential for it whatsoever. Category:Characters